Choo! Choo! Tyler is 2!

Tyler loves trains and what better way to celebrate his second birthday than with a Thomas and Friends party. Thank you to all of our family and friend for celebrating with us. We had such a blast. Warning: Many, many pictures ahead.

JOHNSON STATION

We used black duct tape to make train tracks on our walkway. They led through the door and into the party room.

Close up of our banner from Celebrate Express

I was so excited to find this old railroad sign at an antique store and it was perfect for the front door.

More train track in the hallway

The dining room was the first room the guests saw when they walked through the door. I made this train to display the cupcakes. I felt so crafty making this and for me, that's huge.



Closeup of the cake train

Back of the cake train

Front of the cake train (can you tell that I am proud of this one?)

The Tyler Express- train number 2

Choo! Choo! Tyler is 2!



Wooden letters I spray painted - Choo! Choo!

The gift table and the party bags above it. I gave each kid a bag of candy, bubbles and a train whistle. They received these at the end of the party for good reason. I would like to apologize to all you parents for sending your kids home with such an annoying party favor.

Happy Birthday banner that I made. I had never made a banner before and found them to be super easy.



Another banner that I made

Party room where we opened gifts


Tyler is 2!

I made these fun little signs to label all of the food. Everything was named after the trains on Thomas and Friends - Thomas' train wheels (wheel shaped mac and cheese), Gordon's garlic bread, Lady's lemonade, etc.

Our patio where we served dinner




Thomas the Train jumper- there is only one of these available in all the Inland Empire. We were sooooo lucky to be able to get it!

Hey, Birthday boy!

Having so much fun bouncing





Time out for some apple juice. Bouncing is such hard work!




Sneaking jelly beans for the fifty thousandth time. The jellybeans were in little train dishes that I made. So bummed that I didn't get a picture of them.

My nephew, Cade. Such a cutie.





The kiddos playing on our new swing set

Okay, here comes the meltdown. 'The Boy' enjoys holding a train or two at all times. It doesn't matter what he's up to, he's always holding a train. So the meltdown started when one of his pals dared to pick up a train that 'The Boy' was not currently holding. 'The Boy' (of course) decided that he wanted to hold that train immediately and, since he's not the best sharer yet, had a meltdown when I explained to him that it was okay for other kids to play with his trains.

'The Boy' was not amused so, I thought we should get the party moving and blow out the
candles. Also not thrilled with this.



I will smile through this. You're 2 kid. I am bigger and stronger and you WILL HAVE CAKE!
NOW!

He calmed down once the singing started and even made an effort to blow out his candle.

For the very first time in his life, 'The Boy' could have cared less about cake and wanted only his trains.

Maybe...

Maybe not...

We even survived present time.

Of course, only interested in the trains.

Thank you every body for celebrating with us. We had such a great time and loved that each of you were able to be there. See you next year (at some party facility that is not my house).

Happy Birthday 2 You, Tyler!

Our little man turned 2 on September 26th. I cannot believe how time is flying! We had a few celebrations for 'The Boy'. Welcome to the family, kiddo. It's called a birthday weekend around here.

Friday night, Grammie, Pop, Mimi, Papa, and Grandma came to celebrate with us. We ate pizza (teetzah) 'The Boys'' favorite. We opened family presents or at least tried to. We started with the super fun playhouse from Grandma and Grandpa. After that, it was difficult to get his attention for anything else. We did get through his new easel (thanks Grammie and Pop) and a new dinosaur and play dough (thanks Mimi and Papa).

Saturday morning, 'The Hubs' and I woke 'The Boy' up and sung "Happy Birthday" before bringing him downstairs to meet his new favorite toy- a train table. He played non-stop for 4 hours forgoing breakfast and lunch so that he could hang with Thomas and Friends.

His big bash was on Saturday night with all our family and friends. (Pics soon to come.)

We practiced and practiced! Still needed a little help from Daddy.

This took hours to put together but it was so worth it. He loooooves it.


'The Hubs' and I are singing "happy Birthday" on the other end of the camera. Note how 'The Boy' cares only about one thing.

This action shot was taken as he was charging for his new toy. I soooo need a new camera. All the good pics in this post are from Grammie and Pop's.
Let the fun begin. That's Edward the big engine on the ground. 'The Boy' took him to bed the night before.

Mission: Bathroom Makeover, Complete

'The Hubs' and I have been working on a makeover for the downstairs bathroom for months and we are happy to report that it is (finally) complete. It all started with the idea of giving our hardware a little lift and one thing led to another resulting in a complete head to toe makeover.

4 months later, several arguments, a few coats of paint and more cursing than I have heard out of my husband's mouth since his Navy days, we have finally achieved perfection (for now).

Hopefully, next year we will be able to afford the granite counter top that we just couldn't stomach shelling out the cash for right now.

Before:

The old towel rack that started it all.

Boring!

After:

A new mirror, faucet and buffed counter top.

(Don't mind the annoying glare from the light fixture or my hand and the camera peeking in from below.)

New brushed nickle shower curtain rod and wainscoting shelf. The picture is hung where the old ugly towel rack once resided.

Same cabinet with a fresh coat of paint and new hardware.

New satin nickel faucet. 'The Hubs' was very proud of this one.

What's a Beach Cottage bathroom without a vase full of shells?

The toilet paper holder that (also) started it all.

New home for the towel rack. I still think that it is hung too high but 'The Hubs' says it stays that way.

Wainscoting shelf (stores toilet paper)

New artwork from Homegoods

A different view







Homemade built in shelf that took place of the standard medicine cabinet that came with the house. We got this idea from Dane and Janelle- thanks you guys! You saved us from a lifetime of tolerating the ugly medicine cabinet.





Another view.

We worked so hard on this project and for so long. Hope you all love it as much as we do!